


Metamorphosis

by MorganaNK



Category: Inspector Lynley - All Media Types, Inspector Lynley Mysteries (TV)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-17
Updated: 2017-05-17
Packaged: 2018-11-02 00:00:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10932738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorganaNK/pseuds/MorganaNK
Summary: Dorothy marvels on the positive influence one woman has had on her son





	Metamorphosis

**Author's Note:**

> Property of Elizabeth George and the BBC, no copyright infringement intended

I know a mother is supposed to love their children unconditionally, but sometimes Tommy made that difficult. His father and I tried not to treat him any differently to Judith or Peter, even though, realistically, it was virtually impossible considering the weight of responsibility, of destiny, that sat heavily on his shoulders from the day of his birth.

When his father was ill, I sought comfort in Roddy Trenarrow’s arms. Tommy caught us, and in an instant his childhood was destroyed. I don’t regret the relationship, but I regret the damage it did to my children; only Judith seemed to escape relatively unscathed. I realise now that I should have been more discreet.

As the years passed Tommy’s attitude worsened, but I hardly ever called him on it. I still felt guilty, as well as scared that I would lose him completely, and so I let him get away with behaviour that I should have put a stop to years before.

Then things began to change. 

When Tommy would phone, the conversation always seemed to turn to his new partner, a woman named Barbara. He would swing from exasperation to grudging respect and back again in the same conversation. It amused me.

It was at his and Helen’s engagement party that I first met the by now infamous Barbara; although we didn’t get off to a good start as I mistook her for the florist. I was surprised by her, she wasn’t anything like I had imagined from Tommy’s conversations with me, but it was when I watched them interact that the real revelation came. Whereas Tommy’s interest in Helen waxed and waned continually, his interest in Barbara was constant.

And then Barbara was shot.

If I had been in any doubt as to how much my son cared for his feisty partner, the way he reacted to her shooting would have dispelled it in an instant. Instead of following Helen and trying to convince her that they could salvage their marriage, Tommy chose to spend his time sitting at Barbara’s bedside as she fought to recover. 

The second time I saw them together was after Barbara was held hostage. She came to recuperate at the local Aikido dojo, and ended up staying at Howenstow. She and Tommy bickered as if it were an Olympic sport, but I could see the respect that they had for each other, the friendship they shared and, even though they may not have recognised it as such, the love.

Then Helen returned.

Now when I spoke to Tommy on the phone he didn’t mention Barbara. If I asked after her he would say she was fine, but would not be pressed to discuss it any further. It worried me. While I was pleased that Tommy and Helen had found each other again, I knew what Barbara meant to him, and I had a pretty good idea he meant just as much to her. I hoped that he hadn’t cast Barbara aside, she had been so good to him.

Things changed again when Helen was shot and killed.

Tommy spiralled out of control. He shut himself away, barely existing in an alcoholic fugue. Barbara was the only person who could reach him, and even then, he treated her abominably. We could all see he was on a path of self-destruction; a path that culminated in him being arrested for murder. It was Barbara who saved him then.

She continued saving him when he finally returned to work. 

When he called me he would talk about her again; telling me tales of their arguments, of the cases they were working on, and he seemed happier. Sometimes I would phone him at home and she would be there with him. I was relieved that he wasn’t on his own.

It was the second Christmas after Helen’s death when I noticed a change in their relationship. Tommy invited Barbara to join us for the festive season, telling me that he didn’t want her to be alone. On the day they arrived I came back from the stables to hear raucous laughter echoing from the kitchen. I walked in, and there was Tommy chasing Barbara round the centre island. It took a while before they noticed me, but when they did, and they managed to calm down, I discovered that Tommy had been fixing them sandwiches for lunch and Barbara had playfully deposited a large blob of mayonnaise on the end of his nose; hence the laughter and the chasing each other around the kitchen. They both looked so happy.

The more time I spent in their company, the more changes I noticed. Tommy and Helen had never been a couple for whom public displays of affection were the norm. Whatever the current status of his relationship with Barbara, they were both incredibly tactile and at ease with each other, and I began to wonder if Barbara’s belongings had been placed in the guest room for the sake of appearances only. 

We all went out for a meal on Christmas Eve, and I was stunned to watch them stealing food from each other’s plates, as well as sharing spoonfuls of pudding and tastes of the other’s drinks. It was the first time I had ever seen Tommy so relaxed; his guard was down, he was having fun, enjoying himself, and he didn’t care who knew it. If he expected me to be shocked then he was correct, but probably not for the reasons he would have anticipated.

On Christmas morning, the family were awoken by a loud shriek. We hurried downstairs and discovered Barbara and Tommy in the family room; tears were streaming down her face, their arms were wrapped around each other, and they were kissing passionately. We finally discovered that Tommy had proposed, and the loud shriek had been Barbara saying yes.

As everyone crowded round them, offering congratulations and admiring the ring, it struck me. The Lynley family were finally reunited. Wounds had been healed and longstanding feuds ended, thanks in no small part to the remarkable Barbara Havers.


End file.
